Ding-You Are Now Free to Move About the Country.

Well, I just finished unpacking the last of my suitcases from our trip to California. Whew! It's not so much the unpacking that takes a lot of time, as it is the making room in the girls' closets for all of the wonderful new items they come home with courtesy of Aunt Melanie, Grandma, & Grandpa. (A wiser woman would've cleaned out the girls' closets when they were in California so she didn't have little hands helping her out)! As I packed up summer clothes & clothes that have been outgrown, I felt truly blessed as I was able to replace those items with winter clothes in each girl's current size--gifts from family & friends. Each season that seems to be the case, & I am so thankful. Because of the generosity of family & friends, I have rarely even had to buy clothes for the girls. And I cannot begin to tell you what a help that has been for us!

Anyway, I just wanted to quickly talk about how great our flight back from California was--no, I'm not being sarcastic, it really was. Now I know a lot of people cringe at the thought of travelling cross country alone w/ a 3 & 1 year old, but when your parents live on the other side of the country you do whatcha gotta do to get the grand babies to them! However,I will admit, although me & the girls have made the trip several times, I was a little apprehensive this time, simply because Aleesha is bigger & much more active since the last time we flew in July & I wasn't sure how she would do in my lap for 5 hours. Also, typically we fly in the evening so at least I can usually count on at least one of the girls to sleep. But this time -thanks to a fare that could not be beat- we were flying during the day. The day got off to a slow start (our flight was scheduled to leave at 6am which meant a 4:30am departure from my parents' house, which meant getting up at 3:30am. Not to mention we left on election day, so I had stayed up late the night before listening to all of the pre-election commentary). But I managed to make it to the airport in time. Now, for me, the two hardest parts of travelling alone w/ kids are getting through security and actually boarding the plane. I had noticed when I had arrived in California (Ontario airport) that they had signs indicating that they were using the coded security screening lines: one line for the expert business traveler, one line for the casual traveler, and one line for families. I had heard a story on the news a couple of years ago that they were going to be doing a trial of such a system in Denver, but I had not yet encountered it at any airports. I thought it sounded like a great idea because getting through security (imagine unloading all of your stuff onto the conveyor belt, getting off your own shoes/jacket, then having to do two more sets, then fold up your stroller & get it on the conveyor belt--all w/ a baby in one arm & while trying to keep the 3 year old contained) is stressful enough w/o having to deal w/ the annoyance of the "expert business traveler" sighing behind you (and we've got it down to a pretty good science). So I'm sure you can imagine my dismay when we arrived to the security area only to find the family line closed (which seemed to annoy the business travelers even more). But we made it through, regrouped & bought our $5 bottle of juice & $10 breakfast sandwich, & boarded the plane. We lucked out & did not have full flights, so I was able to take Aleesha's car seat on board--at least I wouldn't have to worry about trying to hold her. Our first segment was only 1 hour (CA to Las Vegas). I thought eating would take most of the flight, but the girls actually managed to fall asleep after they got done eating. I was not really happy about this, because I was worried it would mean they would not sleep on the next flight--the long one from Las Vegas to Ohio, but I decided they must have needed the rest,so I left them alone (besides, I think the golden rule of travelling w/ kids is not to wake them if they're sleeping). Anyway, they must have been super tired from 3 busy weeks in CA & also from getting up so early because after we boarded our next flight, they were both asleep before the plane reached its cruising altitude & they both stayed asleep for over 3 hours! (They don't even nap that long) They woke up just shortly before we began our descent into Columbus. I couldn't believe it! I mean, usually the girls do pretty good travelling, but this was by far my easiest flight with them. I did not have to entertain them at all, because when they woke up I gave them a snack & then it was time for the plane to land. Samaya asked to watch a movie when she woke up & I hesitated because I knew she would not be able to watch her DVD player long before it would be time to put it away again & in the past she sometimes has had problems understanding this, but I guess I was feeling good because I had even managed to sleep a little so I let her get it out. And I guess she was feeling good from all the rest, too, because she did not cry or whine or complain when we had to put it away. I felt like I had scored another traveling victory as we received a variety of "they were so good!" as people got off the plane. Even the business travellers couldn't help but smile as they exited the plane to Samaya's little voice telling everyone "bye...have a great day!"